The Greens today warned Tasmanians to brace themselves for a smoke-wreathed Easter, as another annual forest burning season is about to kick off, blanketing the otherwise glorious autumn weather in noxious smoke.

Greens Health spokesperson Paul ‘Basil’ O’Halloran MP said the equivalent of trillions of cigarettes would be burned across the state and the smoke inhaled by everyone, including children and senior citizens.

“The Easter Bunny would have to cough and wheeze as it tries to deliver its eggs this Easter,” said Paul ‘Basil’ O’Halloran MP. “Perhaps it won’t even get that far,” added Mr O’Halloran.

“Unfortunately, unlike the Easter Bunny, this is real and serious for far too many people, whose health suffers because of it, as does Tasmania’s brand reputation and industries such as tourism and winegrowing.”

“Labor is lame when it comes to acting on smoke pollution. The emphasis seems to be of the 1950s’ kind: ‘if you’re asthmatic, close the windows and stay indoors. If it gets too bad, move out of home for a while’. But that’s just not good enough.”

“In February, Tasmania’s Environmental Protection Authority and the Office of the Director of Public Health launched a new air quality notification system.”

“But if you look at its website, its air-pollution figures are at least a month out of date. And go to the ‘public health alerts’ section of the DHHS website and there’s no mention of smoke pollution. This lack of action, just as the burning season kicks off, betrays Labor’s double-standard on smoke pollution.”

“The Deputy Director of Public Health has admitted that “even after only short exposures to smoky conditions… wood smoke can worsen the symptoms of lung conditions, such as asthma, chronic bronchitis and emphysema [and that] we are seeing increasing evidence of its effects on heart disease as well. Infants and people over the age of 65 are also at increased risk.”

“But the EPA’s appears to only tell people to “take precautions and limit their exposure to smoke”. Why does the EPA continue to ignore the source of the smoke pollution and put the emphasis on the public, who are forced to inhale the smoke?”

“I urge people who are concerned about smoke pollution to call the EPA’s dedicated smoke pollution hotline on 1800 005 171. You can also email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)”.

“In a landmark report on its outlook to 2050, the OECD issued a report called the Consequences of Inaction. It predicted that, by 2050, air pollution will overtake water pollution and lack of sanitation as the cause of mortality. The report said “exposure to particulate air pollutants, leading to respiratory failure, could double from current levels to 3.6 million [deaths] every year globally.”

“Here in Tasmania, we’re well on our way to this alarming situation, and through their inaction, Labor and the Liberals are complicit. Labor’s double standard is revealed again: pledging action on cigarette smoking but doing nothing on forest burn-offs. The Greens will continue to protect people’s health and Tasmania’s reputation by campaigning on this issue,” said Mr O’Halloran.

“The forest burns season is neither clean, green nor clever, especially not for Tasmanians’ health and definitely not for the state’s high-value wine growers. Grape vines are critically sensitive to smoke contamination and April is their critical growing month,” said Mr Booth.

“The forest smoke, which has been swathing the island this year, gets absorbed by the grape vine leaves and the pollutants are then passed to the grapes. But it is only months after the wine is fermented that you can tell if it’s contaminated and undrinkable,” said Mr Booth.

“If the burns continue as they have we could realistically expect the destruction of the grape harvest, and the island’s wine production, in the areas worst hit by smoke pollution. Forestry Tasmania has planned 245 burns this year, and that doesn’t even include private forestry burns.”

“No other industry is allowed to contaminate the atmosphere or damage other businesses in this way and Forestry Tasmania must be restrained from using the air as a dumping ground for its rubbish.”

“This unnecessary and medieval practice is at odds with our high-value wine industry, to which Tasmania’s clean, green brand is critical. The trees being torched include those from native forest and that’s just wrong.”

“For example, Lubiana Wines is based in the Derwent Valley and Steve Lubiana this week called the effects of these burns “potentially devastating” to wine growers there, including his winery. And he is not alone.”

“I am unhappy about this smoke pollution. If it continues, you could potentially expect to see the end of wine growing in the Derwent Valley,” said Mr Lubiana.

“As 90% of the grape crop will be harvested during April, the current height of the burns season, it means it is vulnerable to smoke contamination,” said Mr Booth.

“Smoke pollution is bad for brand Tasmania, our health, our carbon footprint and industries like wine growing and tourism. And if anyone can find a good reason to justify them, answers on a postcard, please…”

“The Greens are calling for Labor and the Liberals to break their silence on this industrial smoke pollution.”

“The Greens urge members of the public who are concerned about smoke pollution to contact Tasmania’s Environment Protection Authority’s smoke pollution hotline on 1800 005 171,” said Mr Booth.

Before wasting your time phoning the EPA as O’Halloran suggests please be aware that EPA director Alex Schaap sits on the ‘Forest Practices Advisory Council’ with Terry Edwards. Your complaint will be filed in the wastebin. You would think O’Halloran would know this but apparently the Greens are working in the dark. http://www.fpa.tas.gov.au/the_fpa/programs/governance

Posted by Karl Stevens on 02/04/12 at 03:41 PM

Should the pulp mill be built we in the Tamar can in our autumn and winter months look forward to steady and consistent onslaught of the usual Tamar Valley fog, the usual woodheater emissions, logging burnoff smoke as well as thick vaporous emissions, particulate smoke and noxious odour emissions from the pulp mill.

That should keep the skies brown and our lungs looking something similar. Apparently the Wildo’s believe this aint worth a campaign and the mates of their IGA believe we should just shut the fuck up about it.

Posted by pilko on 02/04/12 at 06:43 PM

Pilko,I am just a newcomer but I suspect some of your comments about the IGA and the ENGO’s, on my limited interaction with them all, are a tad off the mark

Posted by John Powell on 02/04/12 at 07:08 PM

Until a class action is brought to bear upon the Directors of Forestry Tasmania and the State government, nothing at all will bring about a change to this highly offensive seasonal poisoning gambit initiated each Autumn by this State’s protected destructors, being the collective of Forestry Tasmania?
The only problem with such a class-action whereby this might fail in itself, (as well as fail the people of Tasmania,} is that this matter may go to the “Tasmanian” Supreme Court.

Many a claimant whom has sought the support and or the force of law here in Tasmania have found themselves the to be the luckless victim of exceptional re-constructed opposing wordages and or passages, perhaps even a re-interpreted about-facement to that which once was.

If I may ask here for the advices of an obliging learned person whom may be possessed with the appropriate legal tenets; “is Tasmania’s Supreme Court the only avenue available for a citizens class-action?”

(By the way, ‘Supreme’ is also a reference term to describe a substantial pizza.!)

Posted by William Boeder on 02/04/12 at 08:04 PM

#4 Can you elaborate John. I’m prepared to admit where i am wrong.

Posted by pilko on 02/04/12 at 08:27 PM

#4, John Powell. You would do well to read up on the psychology of conservatism, which describes everyone around the Roundtable and in the IGA. Self interest is the alpha and omega of their values.

John Hayward

Posted by john hayward on 02/04/12 at 08:33 PM

Yes John well i’ve had six years of personal and ‘professional’ (pulp mill campaign) association with the two Tasmanian ENGO signatories to the IGA.

I’m not about a write an extensive personal history for you but i will say that there came a point a few years ago (about the time the ENGO’s entered the forest negotiations) after having been a friend, associate and loyal defender of my fellow ENGO pulp mill campaigners that i became determined not to allow my positive personal feelings and positive views of certain individual ENGO campaigners prevent me from objectively appraising the very obvious change, the change that everyone was talking about in The Wilderness Society and Environment Tasmania’s pulp mill campaigns.

I well remember a bemused ABC journalist exclaiming to me during a phone call conversation about the Wilderness Societies pulp mill campaigner at the time “what is he doing, why he is talking like that”?. It wasnt just me. Just as Tasmanians didnt buy Paul Lennon’s new and improved parliamentary pulp mill fast track approvals process, neither did Tasmanians buy Phil & Pauls new industry friendly pulp mill speak.

Tassie is a small place John. The Tamar Valley is a small place. Its easy to let ones feeling about the polly you know, the journo, the ENGO cloud your view of their policies & practices.

Tell me where i am missing the mark John. I’m happy to acknowledge where i’ve strayed.

Posted by pilko on 02/04/12 at 11:37 PM

Smoked Easter bunny. Looks like we will have additional ambulances ramped at the LGH waiting to unload patients. More cost shifting!

Yes Pilko it wasn’t a very smart thing to try and tell people to shut up about the pulp mill. That is already having the reverse effect in my opinion.

Karl the EPA made it clear at their last Smoke Strategy meeting that they will only investigate major smoke events.
Sooner or later the people making these decisions are going to find themselves in the hot seat and they will not be able to justify their actions on the grounds of workload or being starved of funds….if they can’t show they asked for more help or funds and were denied.

I have previously submitted my smoke complaints to the EPA and will continue to do so. Yes, I can show that virtually none of my complaints have been investigated and many were not even accepted. However, I would still encourage others to submit theirs as well. Right to Information is a marvelous thing ;-)

I personally think it is a welcome change to read Paul O’Halloran’s press releases. He is certainly not going to be silenced on important health issues.

greenwitch00 It was sad you couldn’t face living in Tas any longer.
I wonder if the government has a Compliments and Complaints form for people in your situation? Now that would make good reading!

Posted by Clive Stott on 02/04/12 at 11:53 PM

Gunns project could spell health disaster: doctors

Lets go back to the 11/4/2007, ABC 7.30 Report pulp mill article, in relation to air quality and health in the Tamar Valley.

The Australian Medical Association says the Tasmanian Government is risking a major public health disaster by fast-tracking assessment of a controversial pulp mill. Doctors say the project fails to meet pollution guidelines and the community will suffer.

Lets not forget the woodheater buy back debacle either. Throwing more good money after bad encouraging people to use heat pumps instead of wood burners while looking the other way as forestry continues its “re-gen” burns and while the government actively promotes a pulp mill that will release more particulate ino the air, let alone the smell. Now as electricity prices rise. people are ditching the heat pumps and going back to their trusty wood heaters which they can at least afford the timber for. One step forward, two steps back, lets do the Tassie two-step!

Posted by Sue DeNim on 03/04/12 at 11:23 AM

#4 Yes John Powell, Pilko’s comments are a tad off the mark. He has down played the utter treachery and duplicity of the three ENGO’s involved in the SOP/IGA. The proof is that his comments were printed on TT. Had he not pulled his punches his comments would never have seen the light of day on TT, or in any other public media outlet for that matter. But that’s probably not what you meant. I guess you had better bone up on the history of all this. Being a newcomer is no excuse for ignorance - well no excuse for expressions of unfounded love for the (surviving) ENGO participants in the IGA ‘solution’ to the Thirty Years War.

Posted by Bob McMahon on 03/04/12 at 08:59 PM

Happy Easter to all of my good friends busy regenerating new forest using the time proven technique CBS method.
Similar to natures wildfire wet forest regeneration requires a hot burn prior to seeding. It is essential seed falls onto ash, during the first rain seed is washed into its growing medium to germinate when the conditions are right.
I suggest that the informed and the doubters read FT’s handout “We are continuing to improve our regeneration burning program”.
Private landowners are also taking advantage of the current weather conditions by burning their bush runs before the autumn rains and cooler temperatures appear.
#11 Sue DeNim, I agree throwing away woodheaters in the current climate of economic uncertianty over electricity pricing is madness.
I would never part with my woodheater, a Tasmania tough Saxon which is now about 20 years old now, not a problem apart from a door seal replacement about 12 years ago!
I cut my own wood in the bush, the best of the best East Coast peppermint. I enjoy the exercise and contact with nature, camping out for a day or two cooking on the open fire.
I closely follow a more traditional way of life and enjoy it while I can still get around. One of the secrets to successful woodheater ownership is to use dry wood, store your wood under open sided cover, having a supply up 2 years ahead ensures that the driest wood is available, with minumium smoke output.
Also Happy Easter to all of TT regulars.

Posted by Robin Halton on 04/04/12 at 08:48 AM

Paul,

You clearly have absolutely no idea about vegetation management and the benefits of hazard reduction burning.

The smoke you are forming the bandwagon on was private landowners burning off. It’s a good idea.

Have you ever been involved with fire fighting? I am guessing no.

It’s quite dangerous and the less fuel, the less fire.

The closer we come to an election the higher my hopes soar. Your policies are ill informed at best.

Please go away, stop writing nonsense. Some people believe what you say about such topics and it is destructive.

Go and join your local fire brigade, do a course. Learn something first before you make benthic, scaremongering statements that panic the uninformed.

Posted by bob Palendrome on 04/04/12 at 03:13 PM

William Boeder got it right in todays Mock.

Class action. Tasmanians need to get together and take the perpetrators of destructive & damaging logging burns to the cleaners.

If i hear one more logging apologist attempt to dress up logging burns as anything to do with fire safety i’ll puke.

These burns are for PRIVATE interests and through their broad negative, social, environmental and economic impacts overwhelmingly NOT IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST. Forestry Tasmania’s spin unit has successfully massaged & schmoozed the media into submission as well as other bodies who should be calling for a stop to the current regime but that doesnt mean the rest of us need to play the game

The only way Tasmanians will reign these burns in is by getting together and using the blunt instrument of the law. The sooner it happens the better.

Posted by pilko on 04/04/12 at 04:46 PM

Re #13
“One of the secrets to successful woodheater ownership is to use dry wood, store your wood under open sided cover, having a supply up 2 years ahead ensures that the driest wood is available, with minumium smoke output.”

Then why can’t FT use the same practices or at least let their wood-waste piles dry long enough to stop their smoke pollution?

Posted by Russell on 04/04/12 at 05:00 PM

bob Palendrome. Why is now a good time to burn? It will be 7 months at least before there is a fire danger, if then. In that 7 months the burnt area will sprout new grass or shrubs, dry out and be the new fire danger. The winter rains will wash the ash bed into our waterways, the raw earth will follow silting up the rivers and the general public will suffer health problems from the 2.5 particulate and dioxins from smoke and ash. The grape growers one of the few viable industries may be forced out of business. Was the smoke from local land owners or was it from the smouldering mess left by forestry, if it was the former then they should have known better. I have been involved in bush fires and I have fought them, not at this time of the year and not fires caused by rubbish or litter from clear fells. My fires started in grass land and semi open bush. Burning now promotes rapid growth of grasses that unless eaten off will be the problem in possibly February. To claim that burning now is a hazard reduction burn, a burn that threatens the wine industry and peoples health is criminally stupid.

Posted by max on 04/04/12 at 06:31 PM

Bob Palendrome - for an apparent expert, you’re woefully misinformed. The most recent (before today) burn was by Norske Skog and wasn’t a hazard reduction, it was a plantation ‘regeneration’ burn. The Greens support fuel reduction burns - this wasn’t one of them. The smoke across the Derwent Valley and D’Entrecasteaux Channel today was forestry ‘regeneration’ burns, not fuel reduction burns. The issue is commercial forestry burns, especially of native forest. The best way to manage our forests is to leave them to their own devices. They’ve survived fine for tens of thousands of years without human assistance - and suddenly, human ‘management’ is critical. Forestry Tasmania has 245 commercial burns scheduled this year. That’s the equivalent of trillions of cigarettes being burned and inhaled by Tasmanians, including children and elderly. Do you smoke, Bob? You do now…

Posted by tom de kadt on 04/04/12 at 06:52 PM

Can I add my voice to those objecting to current burns being defended as wild fire protection?
If you want to prevent wild fire, burn off grass in early spring. Fires might spread into forests but they invariably start in the small stuff. If you burn off now you’re just creating ideal conditions for vigorous grass growth come spring.
Incidentally, not that if affects my opinion, but for those who like to pick, I have been involved in fighting bush fires, both here and interstate. I also own property that I manage to minimise fire risk, this includes burning off undergrowth, but not at this time of the year.

Posted by Steve on 04/04/12 at 09:16 PM

Maybe I’ve missed something here, but I thought the basic idea was that poorer quality wood is suitable for pulping and this was the reason for logging it in the first place?

That being so, why would anyone want to set it on fire? Isn’t the idea to use the high quality wood as sawlogs, and use the poorer quality wood for pulp / chips?

Forestry seems the most ridiculous industry in the way it operates. In 2012 you sure don’t find a mining company dumping gold, silver, zinc and copper (or trying to find a way of setting it on fire) in order to sell a bit of lead.

Nor do you find an oil company burning off petrol, kero and diesel in order to sell a bit of fuel oil.

Forestry along with fishing are unique with this idea of trashing the resource in order to sell a relatively small portion of it.

As for the smoke, well I don’t smoke but I wonder what would happen if I lit up a cigarette at, say, a sports ground whilst all this smoke was about? No doubt I’d be fined or similar for the relatively trivial quantity of smoke that a cigarette can possibly produce whilst a huge mushroom cloud looms on the horizon.

On a more practical note, can I send Forestry a bill for lost power production from my solar power system? This would seem to be a pretty direct cost I am incurring due to their pollution.

Posted by Shaun on 04/04/12 at 09:59 PM

#16 Russell, At the start of this season including the back log a total of 245 burns are required to compete FT’s program.
In practice there is not a hope in the world FT will achieve this number during the current late summer- autumn-early winter period.
For the inquisitive type that you are, my estimation is that FT will attempt the larger coupes with older fuels on the hotter days first, Burns left for more than 1-2 years lose their fine fuels, are harder to light and may generate more smoke.
Burning with fresher dry fuels, burning is safer (yes safer) rapid and intense, burning edges draw in together the central column of smoke is establised earlier and the burn is usually over and declared as safe in a shorter period of time.
I dont know all of the modern politics and procedures for burning in 2012! From what I understand each coupe is allocated a value of smoke units. Each locality? is issued with a max number of smoke units per day by the EPA!
While the seasonal window of opportunity is there FT will be all out to perform as many burns as possible moving from the back blocks towards the coastal regions once the SDI’s show a falling trend as is the case every autumn.
Forest slash fuels wont burn readily above 17%MC, from memory 11%-15% is ideal with a differential of 3%-4%MC higher for forest surrounding the coupe. These are measured on site by the Fire Boss or his nominee using Hazard Sticks over a period of weeks, burning is planned to be undertaken once the slash fuels are ready and weather condition on the day of the burn and forecast for days following the burn are safe.
Presumably fine fuel condition, age size of coupe, location and weather conditions all play their part in the amount of smoke generated.

Posted by Robin Halton on 05/04/12 at 12:06 AM

#15. Thanks pilko.
The research I am beginning this coming weekend should offer up the information I seek to amass, by utilizing the available WWW recorded resources detailing prior successful class actions launched upon or against any and all of the various State governments of Australia.
I have already noted in mind a number of instances where this type of citizens action has left in its wake the very information sought by myself to deeper study these prior instances of class action, (recorded precedent cases,) whereby the State has been found proven as the guilty party, to State sanctioned “harms, bodily impairments, internal vexing injury, unannounced endangerments causing their wrath of casualties upon our communities and so on.

Whether they consist of environmental harms, or public health endangering government permitted actions and activities, even to the degree of nuisance and or financial burden, as so created through and by such sanctioned acts, activities, and to include the cases of proven negligence, its punitive imposts and whatever other harms arising from such State governmental agencies/departments et al.

The many side-paths and avenues found open during the journey of this research may indeed prove it to be a lengthy, arduous, time consuming exposition, though it will ultimately provide this forum with its enchanting informational offerings, its important discoveries, peppered with the occasional interesting and of course, actual legal perspectives.

To be continued.

Posted by William Boeder on 05/04/12 at 01:04 AM

#13 Robyn Halton, FT always use the tired old argument that they need to burn in the “wet forests” for good regen.
I am yet to receive an answer as to why the practice of CBS is also used on dry forests such as we have in the north.
I am also wondering if you could write an article for TT sometimes comparing the benefits of CBS with Selective logging.
What I would like to know about is what is the comparison between the rates of sawlog to woodchip logs from clearfell coupes and well managed selective logged coupes.
We are often told that selective logging leads to degradation of the forest and only the rubbish is left behind. This may have been the practice of some poor foresters in the past. I have a couple of friends who have private sawmills on their own land who are very selective and whose forests are in great shape from careful selective logging.
So my question is does clearfelling a coupe lead to a greater proportion of sawlogs in an area?

Posted by Pete Godfrey on 05/04/12 at 07:53 AM

#17

Actually you are wrong. Burn off in Autumn so the burn goes out over Winter is the best time.

You can do some limited burning in Spring.

Look up any fire agency, anywhere in the world that operates in a temperate climate and they will agree.

Look at when the indigenous population in temperate climates burn off.

Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean it isn’t true.

Posted by bob Palendrome on 05/04/12 at 10:21 AM

24# bob Palendrome Are you being deliberately obtuse? These burns are not hazard reduction burns, to say so is misconstruing the truth. Has any one the right to deliberately light fires that can damage the tourist industry, the wine industry and cause the death of susceptible people. These burns are a cheap and nasty way of cleaning up after a clearfell that is losing money for the people of Tasmania. Slash and burn is used by primitive indigenous populations and they do burn in Autumn to produce a vigourous growth, the very thing that should be avoided in bushfire prone areas. The use of fire in primitive agriculture also depletes the soil and the end result is ever diminishing returns.

Posted by max on 05/04/12 at 04:19 PM

Dressing up corporate business practices that serve limited private interests - as practices that are for the benefit of the public is a Corporate spin 101 fundamental. As i said the meek and acquiescent local media has been schmoozed and massaged by FT into an uncritical stupor. Not so the rest of Tasmanians.

Posted by pilko on 05/04/12 at 05:08 PM

#1 Karl your negative comment did not deter me from filing a complaint yesterday.At 4.00 pm my place was seriously affected by smoke so I emailed. If it goes nowhere then I will complain again. Huonville got an off the graph dose of pollution. Margate was on the periphery. It was still enough to make my eyes water.

Posted by Carol Rea on 06/04/12 at 01:37 AM

Lets all pray for 40 days and 40 nights of rain!

Robin you make me laugh. You have a lot to offer but then in #21 you confess,“I dont know all of the modern politics and procedures for burning in 2012!”
This we agree on cobber;-)

Posted by Clive Stott on 06/04/12 at 05:47 PM

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